The Awakening of Faith by Asvaghosa & Teitaro Suzuki

The Awakening of Faith by Asvaghosa & Teitaro Suzuki

Author:Asvaghosa & Teitaro Suzuki [Suzuki, Teitaro]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780486148779
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2012-09-02T16:00:00+00:00


3. Ways of Practising the Right Path.

By this we mean that all Bodhisattvas, by their aspiration (cittotpâda)169 and discipline (caryâcarana), will be able to attain to the reason that made all Tathagatas perceive the path (mârga).

Briefly stated, there are three kinds of aspiration : (1) Aspiration through the perfection of faith ; (2) Aspiration through knowledge and practice; (3) Aspiration through intellectual intuition.

By whom, and by which deeds, can faith (çraddhâ) be perfected and can the aspiration be awakened?

Now the people who belong to the group of incon-stancy (aniyatarâçi),170 by virtue of their root of merit (kuçalamûla), which has a perfuming power, firmly believe in the retribution of karma, practise the ten virtues (daçakuçalâni),171 loathe the sufferings of birth and death, seek after the most excellent enlightenment (Samyaksambodhi), and seeing Buddhas and Bodhisattvas they wait on them, make offerings to them, discipline themselves in many [meritorious] deeds; and after the lapse of ten thousand kalpas (eons), their faith will finally be perfected.

Since then either by virtue of the instruction received from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or on account of their deep compassion (mahâkarunâ), or from their desire to preserve the right doctrine (saddharma) against its corruption, their aspiration [to the highest truth] will be awakened.

After having awakened the aspiration they will enter into the group of constant truth (samyaktvaniyata-râçi ) and never relapse, always abiding in the essence of the Buddha-seed and identifying themselves with its excellent principle.

There is, however, a certain class of people whose root of merit (kuçalamûla) from time immemorial is poor, and whose prejudices (kleça or âçrava) are intense, deeply veiling their minds. Such people, even if they see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, wait on them, and make offerings to them, will sow merely the seeds of men (manushya) and gods (deva) [i. e., they will be born in the future as men or gods], or the seeds of the enlightenment of Çrâvakas and Pratyekabuddhas [i. e., their attainment would not be higher than that of Cravakas or Pratyekabuddhas].

Some of them may even aspire to seek after the Mahabodhi,172 but owing to the instability of their character, they will ever osciliate between progress and retrogression.

Some of them, happening to see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, may make offerings to them, wait on them, practise many [meritorious] deeds, and, while ten thousand mahakalpas (æons) are not yet elapsed, may meantime come into some favorable circumstances and thereby awake aspiration. What are those favorable circumstances? For instance, they may witness the personal figure of a Buddha, or may make some offerings to the congregation of priests (Samgha), or may be instructed by Çrâvakas or Pratyekabuddhas, or may be moved by seeing others aspire [to the highest truth].

But this kind of aspiration as a rule is not constant. In case they come into unfavorable circumstances, they may happen to fall down to the stage of Çrâvakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood.

Now, briefly speaking, three faculties of the soul will be awakened by the perfection of faith: (1) rightness of comprehension [lit., right, straight mind], for it truthfully and intuitively contemplates suchness (bhûtatathatâ); (2) profundity of virtue [lit.



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